Improved iron front for buildings



N.FETERS. PHOTO-UTMOGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. D. C.

llntell gisten PETER H. JACKSON,

or NEW YORK, n.l Y.

Letters Patent No. 96,922. dated November 16, 1869.

` IMPROVED IRON FRONT FDR BUILDING-S.- l

The Schedule referred to in thse Letters Patent and making part of the s ame.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, PETER H. JACKSON, of the cit-y and State of New York, have invented and made a new and useful Improvement in Iron -Facings for Buildings; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the said in'- vention, reference heilig had tothe annexed drawing, making part of this specification, wherein I have represented my invention, and the modifications thereof that maybe employed in different parts of buildings.

Buildings have heretofore been faced with iron shells or rustios. These are made in imitation ofstone-work,- and areV attached to the. surface of the wall of brick, stone, cement, and sometimes to wood-work.

These plates are made of iron, cast as thin as the metal will run perfectly, say from three-sixteenths to five-sixteenths thick. Plates madein this-manner are not strong enough to support more weight than that of the superimposed plates, or else the plates will be liable to crack or break, and if the settlingr of the masonry of the wall causes the strain to come upon the plates, they are either cracked or displaced.

Another diioulty has arisen in the use of these rustics, veneers, or f'acings, from the expansion and contract-ion, as the metal is exposed to the directrays of the sun, and the plates are liable to buckle, and change their shape, causing them either to crack. or loosen the fastenings to the brick-work.

Besides the foregoing difficulties, it is found that masons are not accurate in putting the plates together, or in arranging the brick-work so as to prevent undue pressure and strain upon the anchors and plates; neither do they allow for expansion or contraction.

The object of my present invention is to facilitate Ithe construction of' buildings with iron facings or rus#- tics, by connecting several plates together to form a section or pier, in order that the respective plates shall Vlie in the proper relation to each other, and the mason-work be facilitated, the expansion allowed for, and the weight or strain taken entirely oil" the plates themselves, except that which results from the weight of the plates resting upon or being connected .to each other; at the same time the construction ofthe building is greatly facilitated, because the plates can be put in place morerapidly, and there is no detention to the masons.

My invention relates to a series of metal facingplates, of plain,'rnstic, or ashlar-work, united in sections, by means of met-al bars, to which the respective plates are bolted, thereby the anges are relieved from undue strain; there are no bolts in the flanges themselves; the plates are. kept trulyin position to one an- .ot-her; expansion is allowed for, and the construct-ion facilitated.

In the drawing, the plates a are formed with alower flange, 2, setting upon the upper flange 3 of' the plate below, and this flange 3 extends up behind thevfiange 2, so as tolprevent waterrunning in between -the castiron shells and the brick-work or masonry. v"

b b are the bars that are formed of metal, and bolted to the plain, rustic, or ashlar pla-tes, and unite them together in sections.

In bolting the plates to the iron bars l), a small opening should be. left between the plates, to allow for the being generally exposed to greater heat than the bars 11.

In laying up the wall, these plates are secured to Vthe same by anchors taking the bars b, or entering lugs formed on Ithe plates, thus securing the sections of plates firmly to the face ofthe wall, and between the sections as laid np, a slight space is to be allowed, to provide for the settling of the wall and the expansion of the sections and bars b b.

The spaces thus left may bc filled with paint or elastic cement, and, in consequence ot' the mode of making the joints, the water cannot run in, even if slightly open.

I have shown in the various figures the modifica. tions that readily suggest themselves in the manuel' of uniting these shells a and bars b to suit different circumstances of construction or modes of use.

In Figures l and 2, lugs c project from the middle of the plates, and the bar b set against the sides of' obtaining stiffness, the parts being bolted or riveted together.

In Figure 3, a screw, d., projects inward from the lower part of' the shell, and passes through the bar b.

In Figures 4 and 5, bridges e are attached to the insides ofthe plates, to which the barb is bolted. i

In figs. 2, 3, 4, and 7, the flanges 3, coming against the edge ot' the bar 11, the parts are brought into line and rendered very rigid and firm.

In Figures 6 and 7, the bar b is made zigzag, so as to be bolted directly to the inner surfaces of the plates. In figs. 6, 8, and 9, theplates a are shown at the end coming next to the opening for a window or a door.

The plates a have flanges 'i formed on their ends, and against these the vertical bars r are bolted so as straight line for the window or door-frame.

lhe angle formed'for the ashlaravork is filled at the line of' the surface of the` window or door-frame, by a metal plate, o. (See detached view, Figure 10.)

angle before the bar 'r is applied, and it fills up the space that otherwise would be left open and require a separate wooden block introduced to fill it.

difference in expansion and contraction, the plates av said lugs, so as to dome cdgcwisc to the plates for" to stiffen the section of plates or shells, and form a One of these plates is" 'slipped into place at eachl Part of a lint-el is shown at f. The lntel and ornaments, however, may be of any desired character. This mode of construction dispenses with the plan- 'mg or grinding true of the edges of the'plates, because, 1n the ordinary mode of using such plates, any inaccuracy of the edges would cause the plates to stand out of true with each other. v

By my mode of using the bars, the plates forming the section or pier are brought properly into line, regardless of accuracy in the edges, and there held while the wall is being built, and, in cases where a bar is put upon the outside to hold the plates more rmly relatively to each other, it might be removed after the structure is finished.

va and bars 1,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof', I have hereunto set my ysignature, this 27th day of August, A. D. 1869.

Witnesses: PETER H. JACKSON.

CEAS. H. SMTH, HAROLD- SEeRELL. 

